Blazers set up Spurs test
Portland’s road win secured the West No. 7 seed and a first‑round date with San Antonio — a matchup that comes with the odd stat that the Spurs are 10‑0 all‑time in home playoff games against Portland. (x.com) That head‑to‑head note has already been highlighted in previews as context for the series’ opening game. (x.com)
Portland is through to the playoffs after a 114-110 win at Phoenix on Tuesday night, and the reward is a first-round series against second-seeded San Antonio. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The Trail Blazers took the Western Conference No. 7 seed out of the play-in tournament with that road win on April 14. Deni Avdija scored 41 points, added 12 assists, and converted the go-ahead three-point play with 16.1 seconds left after Portland erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit. (nba.com) (apnews.com) San Antonio finished 62-20 and locked up the West No. 2 seed, which gives the Spurs home court to open the series. The National Basketball Association’s playoff page lists Game 1 for Sunday, April 19, in San Antonio. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) That pairing puts a young Portland team into a series against a San Antonio group making its first postseason trip since 2019. The Spurs’ rise came fast: they won 34 games last season and 62 this season. (tpr.org) (nba.com) The matchup also arrives with a lopsided bit of history attached to the opening games in Texas. San Antonio is 10-0 in home playoff games against Portland, and the Spurs lead the all-time playoff series record 14-6. (landofbasketball.com) Those home wins came across three San Antonio series victories in 1993, 1999, and 2014. Portland’s only playoff series win over the Spurs came in the 1990 Western Conference semifinals. (landofbasketball.com) The regular season offered a more current read than the old playoff record. The National Basketball Association’s series preview said San Antonio won two of three meetings, including a 112-101 win on April 8 even with Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle out. (nba.com) Wembanyama is the center of the Spurs side of this series because this will be his first playoff appearance. The Athletic’s preview framed Portland as a physical, aggressive test for a San Antonio team built around Wembanyama’s two-way impact. (nytimes.com) For Portland, the path is simpler: win on the road again, and the bracket changes shape immediately. For San Antonio, the opener is a chance to protect the seed it earned and keep that home playoff record against the Trail Blazers intact. (nba.com) (landofbasketball.com)
